Gen Nakaoka and his family live in Hiroshima during the final days of World War II. The family struggles through food shortages and constant air raid warnings. Gen's mother, Kimie, is pregnant and suffering from malnutrition, and his sister Eiko helps Kimie in her housework. Gen and his brother Shinji help their father, Daikichi, in the family's wheat field and try to find food for Kimie. Daikichi and Kimie realize the war is not going well, though they wonder why Hiroshima has been spared from the air raids which devastated other Japanese cities. On August 6, 1945, Gen and a friend arrive at school just as a lone B-29 aircraft flies overhead. The Enola Gay releases a bomb which devastates the city. Gen's friend is killed in the blast while he is buried under rubble by the resulting shockwave. Gen finds Kimie in the ruined city and they try to rescue their family, who are buried alive under their collapsed house. However, they are unsuccessful and are forced to leave them when the house catches fire. Kimie gives birth to a baby girl, Tomoko. Gen spends the next few days searching for food for his family. He discovers that soldiers are distributing rice, but arrives to find them collecting corpses before burning them in mass graves. He later finds a ration storehouse containing rice, most of which has already been seared by the blast. He finds a few bags of intact rice and takes them to his mother to eat along with some fresh vegetables. On August 16, Gen and Kimie dig up the remains of their family members from their former home. They learn that Japan has surrendered to the Allies, ending the war. They later take refuge in a makeshift shack where they try to live on what little rice they have. A small boy, Ryuta, tries to steal their rice, but Gen catches him and is shocked at Ryuta's resemblance to Shinji. Gen and Kimie take Ryuta in after learning that Ryuta was orphaned by the bomb. The next day, Gen and Ryuta look for food as Tomoko is suffering from malnutrition. A man gives them a job tending to his ill-tempered brother Seiji, another bomb survivor, for 10 yen a day, but the boys grow tired of the mistreatment, slap Seiji several times, and quit. Seiji begs them to come back, explaining to them that he is grateful that the boys treated him like more than a rotting corpse. Gen tells Ryuta to tell his mother where they are, and he spends the night with the man, which inspires him to paint once again. The man's brother pays them 100 yen and the boys head out to find milk for Tomoko. When they return home, they find that Tomoko has already died. A few weeks later, Gen and Ryuta see wheat beginning to grow despite having heard that grass would not grow. With renewed optimism, Gen, his mother, and Ryuta set a paper boat lanterndown the river. They then watch and pray as the boat gently sails into the sunset.
Cast
, Kurtz, McConnohie, Mike Reynolds, and Woren provide additional voices in the English version of the film.
Release
Barefoot Gen was released in Japan on 21 July 1983 where it was distributed by Herald Enterprises. It was released in the United States on 13 June 1992, and dubbed by Streamline Pictures in 1995. Critical reception : The film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 75℅ approval rating based on 8 reviews with an average rating of 7,25/10.
